Athelas
by o.O Kumiko O.o
Summary: Fantasy AU (based on the colorspread of chapter 679). When Elf Princess Hinata falls deathly sick, the only thing that can save her is a rare Athelas. Kakashi had to wonder. Were having a dense dragon tamer, a spoiled elf prince, and a bi-polar dwarf really the best choice for this mission?
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Athelas

**Fandom:** Naruto

**Pairing:** Team 7, NaruHina, SasuSaku

**Summary:** Fantasy AU (based on the colorspread of chapter 679). When Elf Princess Hinata falls deathly sick, the only thing that can save her is a rare Athelas. Kakashi had to wonder. Were having a dense dragon tamer, a spoiled elf prince, and a dwarf with super strength really the best choice for this mission?

XxXxXxXxX

Knock.

Naruto frowned as he twitched in his sleep.

Knock.

Grabbing his pillow, he used it to cover his ears.

Knock. Knock.

"Ugh…" Naruto grabbed his blanket and covered himself.

Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.

"For the love of Eru!" Naruto growled as he got up from his warm comfy bed and angrily walked to his door to pull it wide open.

In front of him was nothing but the view of the green forest in front of him and the riverbank on his right. Looking around his cabin, there was no one around. So who was knocking and disturbing his sleep? Shaking his head, he headed back to bed and got comfortable again.

"You know, if you didn't choose to ignore me, I wouldn't have to break into your home." A deep voice said causing the blonde to jump out of his bed. Falling on the ground hard, he quickly got up and glared at the unexpected guest in the corner of his room.

Dressed up in blue robes with a large wizard hat to match, the Great Wizard Kakashi pulled out an orange book. "Yo!" With his green scarf covering most of his black facemask, Naruto could barely see who it was.

"What do you want Kakashi?" Naruto asked as he tried to wake himself up.

"The Queen has summoned us." That got the young blonde interested.

Naruto wasn't a stranger to the Royal Highness. His father and mother had ruled these lands before he was born. However, one fateful night a dragon by the name of Kuruma came and attack. His parents, especially his mother who had just given birth to him, sacrificed their lives to make sure these lands were safe. Seeing as Naruto was next in line yet too young, the position was to be given to the Wizard Jiraiya who then suggested that the Slug Princess Tsunade was a better fit with her beloved Dan. Naruto's goal was to become King of these lands like his father had been. However, hearing that his mother was known as the great dragon tamer, he chose follow in his mother's footsteps for the time being.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Arriving at the castle, everyone bowed as Naruto and Kakashi made their way to royal chambers. Sitting in the large thrones before them were Queen Tsunade and King Dan. Next to them was the Frog Wizard Jiraiya.

"The Great Wizard Kakashi." Dan acknowledged with a nod of his head. "Prince Naruto."

"My have you grown." Tsunade said as she looked at the other blonde in the room. "You must be turning eighteen soon, am I correct?"

"I'll be turning eighteen in a two weeks." Naruto corrected. "Why have you summoned us?"

"Did Kakashi not tell you?" Jiraiya smirked.

"No, he seemed to have forgotten." Naruto frowned.

"As you may know…" Tsunade began to say. "You were in line for the throne after your parents' deaths. Now that you have come to age, you are still in line as my successor after my time has ruler ends these year."

Naruto's eyes widened with excitement! "I get to be next in line! Did ya hear that Kakashi!?"

"Silence!" Tsunade said raising a hand. "I have not finished yet. The elders still believe you are too young. So they have come up with an agreement. You are to become the next king if you are to find a bride by your eighteenth birthday."

"What?!"

"I have found one for you! As you know, the relationship between humans and elves haven't been well recently since that night. Talking to the South King of the elves, we have agreed to unite our kingdoms through marriage between you and Hinata Hyuuga, Elf Princess of the South." Tsunade continued. "However she had been attack and fallen under a poison that can affect that of even an immortal elf. She has fallen deathly sick. King Hiashi has come to me hearing about my healing. This is where Kakashi and you comes in. You two are to go in search for a magical healing herb called Athelas. It is the only herb that can cure the princess."

"Athelas?" Naruto tilted his head.

"Athelas was first brought to Middle-earth by Númenóreans," Dan began to explain "But by the end of the Third Age the knowledge of its healing properties had been forgotten by all except the Rangers of the North."

"Easy, I'll just pick up this herb and bring it back to you." Naruto said with a Cheshire grin.

"Idiot. It's not so simple. Since Kuruma's attack on these lands, the Athelas have slowly become extinct. There is a rumor that there is still one flower left to exist." Tsunade frowned as she crossed her arms.

"Ironically, it lies in the cave of the nine-tailed dragon, Kuruma. I have reached out to the elves and dwarfs to help you out in this mission." Jiraiya began to speak. "I will accompany you on your mission to the northern lands of the elves. There may be someone we can recruit to help us. I would ask help from the southern lands but they have their palace on lockdown as they care for Princess Hinata."

"Will you take on this mission?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto looked up at the Queen with excited cerulean eyes. "I'll do my very best, believe it!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Athelas

**Fandom:** Naruto

**Pairing:** Team 7, NaruHina, SasuSaku

**Summary:** Fantasy AU (based on the color spread of chapter 679). When Elf Princess Hinata falls deathly sick, the only thing that can save her is a rare Athelas. Kakashi had to wonder. Were having a dense dragon tamer, a spoiled elf prince, and a bi-polar dwarf really the best choice for this mission?

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"What are we doing in a brothel, Kakashi?" Naruto asked the wizard next to him as they were greeted with drunkards and a lot of alcohol. The trio had traveled for about two days. The dragon tamer frowned. They should have already reached the northern kingdom of the elves by now.

"Jiraiya's informant is meeting us here." Kakashi explained as they all found a table to sit down and wait.

A beautiful waitress came by and placed a large drink in front of Jiraiya. "Here's your usual, hun. Anything for you two?" Kakashi and Naruto denied as she left.

"Why do we need to go to the elves anyways?" Naruto continued to ask. "We have two of the most powerful wizards I know on our team already!"

"Because we have created a special arrow that can kill the Kyuubi." A voice said causing the poor blonde to jump up in his seat. Letting out a girly scream, he fell to the ground. Looking up, he was greeted by a tall man who was dressed in a black cloak, the hood covering his face.

"Ah Itachi." Jiraiya smiled, the alcohol he ordered starting to hit him. "So nice of you to join us."

"Drinking already?" You could hear the smirk in his voice.

"It is needed according to what I heard."

"Situation?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

The new person took off his hood to reveal a handsome elf with long raven hair. Lines were noticeable under his eyes.

"As you know, Princess Hinata of the Hyuga elves has become a victim of an illness. With the rival between her clan and the Uchiha clan, they believe it was us who have done this. I've just come back from the southern lands to calm things down." Itachi sighed.

"Have you done so?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes, I have told them that in order to fix things between us, we will send someone from our clan to get the sacred flower for their princess."

"Who did you choose to complete the task?" Kakashi asked, interested.

"Why, no other than-"

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Prince Sasuke, here are the tomatoes from the eastern lands that you have requested." A maid said handing the person in the throne the red delicacy. The guards all watched as the prince took one of them and brought it close to his face.

Everyone in the room held their breath as the prince began to inspect it. The kingdom knew of how spoiled the younger prince could be, especially if things didn't go his way. It was because of his attitude that it was hard to betrothed him to anyone. Of course no one dared to correct his attitude except for the elder prince Itachi and. The queen babied him and the king was indifferent.

The young prince took a bite as he swallowed a piece of it. The maid in front of him was shivering in fear.

"These are excellent." Sasuke nodded as he finished the rest. The room released their breath in relief.

"You aren't causing trouble for the maid, are you little brother?" Sasuke looked up to see his brother entering the room.

"Aniki!" Sasuke got up from his seat excitedly, grabbing another tomato on his way down. He noticed three others with his brother. "How was the southern kingdom?"

"In chaos." Itachi shook his head. "They are completely on lockdown. I was surprised I was able to get in and talk to the King. In order to bring peace between the two clans, I had offered one of our own to go on a mission to retrieve the rare Athelas."

"You truly are worthy of being the next king." Sasuke praised. "Who is the fool you have chosen to go on this mission?" He took a bite of his tomato as he waited for his brother to answer.

Itachi couldn't help but smirk at his younger brother. "Why the fool I have chosen to go on this mission was no other than my dear foolish little brother." Sasuke began to choke on his food as the maids began to assist him. "They were chosen by Queen Tsunade of Konoha to also retrieve the Athelas."

"Brother, why?!" Sasuke frowned.

"You have been too comfortable here in the kingdom. You also have to prepare for your passage from a boy to an adult. Sasuke, you are about to turn 100."

At that a snickering was heard. Sasuke looked behind is brother to see the blonde human man trying to hold in his laughter.

The blonde looked like someone he knew. He was wearing a light brown cloak with a skull head holding everything together. Under that, he wore a beige shirt with the sleeves rolled up to close to his elbows. On top of that was what Sasuke thought to be a vest made of out dragon scales. He was wearing dark green plants and brown boots and gloves to match. Behind him were two wizards that he had met before. The one dressed all in blue was the Great Kakashi. The other one dressed all in white was The Great Jiraiya.

"Don't mind Naruto here." Kakashi said as he slapped him across the head. "He's an idiot."

"Sorry, it's just that, you're turning 100. That's so old!" Naruto confessed.

"Who are you?" Sasuke frowned.

"The name is Naruto Uzumaki. I'm a dragon tamer and future king of Konoha."

"Heh, you a king? The village will burn to the ground the moment you take the throne."

"I could say the same to you, bastard." Naruto said rolling up his sleeves.

"As great as we are getting along here…" A new voice said gaining everyone's attention. "We have something to worry about."

"Ah, Obito! Long time no see old friend!" Kakashi greeted. "Rin."

"Kakashi, it has been long!" Obito greeted back. Next to him was his wife.

"It's great to see you Kakashi!" Rin grinned. "Seems like Naruto and Sasuke met. They reminded me of you two when we were younger. You fought like brothers and now you two are the best of friends."

"Me, with this asshole?" Naruto said pointing at Sasuke.

"Must I go on this mission with this idiot?" Sasuke complained.

"Yes." Itachi said in a tone that left for no arguments. "As I was saying, this will be your passage from child to adult. You will join them on their quest to retrieve the Athelas rumored to lie in the caves of the Kyuubi. We had lost some of our members when he last attacked Konoha. Since then, we had spent years creating a weapon that could kill the dragon. It is an arrow that has been created by our highest craftsmen. The moment the arrow pierces the dragon's heart, an elf will chant a spell which will kill it immediately."

"There is only one problem with that." Obito cut in. "That is the reason for my presence. That arrow has been stolen."

Itachi quickly turned to his brother in shock. "What did you say?"

"It was while you were gone, dear cousin." Rin added. "Your father and Obito had been testing a few of the prototypes earlier today. However, someone had stolen them when they went back to retrieve the arrows."

"Who would dare steal from an Uchiha elf?" Sasuke scoffed. He couldn't believe someone had the bravery to do so.

"It was those dwarves!" Obito frowned. "I didn't get to see his face, but I could tell by his outfit."

"We have to go and get them back." Sasuke crossed his arms.

"Which you four will do as a side mission before heading to Kyuubi cave." Itachi ordered. "You will use our best horses in order to do all this faster. Princess Hinata does not have much time."

XxXxXxXxXxX

Sasuke sighed as they reached the gates. Sending the four of them off was his parents and Itachi.

"Please be safe my son." His mother said, with tears in her eyes. "It will be a difficult mission, I will assure you. However, I know you will create powerful bonds on this journey."

"You can do it, son." His father added as he patted Sasuke on the shoulders. "Make me proud."

"Here are the horses you demanded." A servant said bringing in the three white horses.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure your son won't get himself in trouble!" Naruto grinned as he gave the King and Queen a thumb's up.

The Queen known as Mikoto couldn't help but smile as she walked up to the hyper blonde. "You look so much like your father Minato, but when you smile it is your mother Kushina who I see."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You knew my parents?"

"We were very good friends many years ago. I-I was saddened when I heard of their deaths to the Kyuubi. I would have gone to battle with them had I not been asked to create a barrier around you the moment you when you were just born. We had lost many of our kind, but losing those two were the worse. They were wonderful people."

Finding it hard to swallow, Naruto just nodded as he then turned around to head towards the horses. He soon realized that everyone but Jiraiya was on a horse.

"You're not going with us?" Naruto frowned.

"I will be staying here to wait for your return. Kakashi will be in charge of you two until then. Be safe and do your best kid." Jiraiya winked. He soon pulled out a red egg. "Take care of this for me at the meantime, will ya?"

"What is it?" Naruto asked. When he turned around, Jiraiya was already gone.

"Let's go." Sasuke ordered.

"But what am I supposed to do with this?" Naruto complained as he examined the egg.

Sasuke couldn't but scowl as he said something in Elvish.

"SASUKE! Do not be rude!" Mikoto glared at her son, who suddenly blushed but did not do so.

"Let's continue on our journey now boys!" Kakashi said, eyes crinkling to show he was smiling. As he secured his staff, the great wizard began to speed off, leading the boys towards the mountain trails to meet their dwarf friends.

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Hope you guys liked this chapter. This AU is very fun to write! Please wait for the next installment!

*edit* Thanks for Lady Yori for helping me with Itachi's comment earlier in the throne room!

Love Kumiko


	3. Chapter 3

Here is the third chapter of Athelas. I want to thank everyone for supporting my story. It means a lot to me and I'm very happy to hear that you are enjoying it! Well let's not keep you waiting! Don't forget to review!

**Athelas**

"Idiot!" The wizard heard Sasuke say.

"Say that again fairy boy!" Naruto growled. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the insult.

"I am a noble elf. Not a fairy! Dolle naa lost (Your head is empty). I-di-ot!" Sasuke said slower causing Naruto to turn red in the face.

"BASTARD!"

Kakashi sighed as he tried to ignore the bickering behind him. It had only been three hours since they left the Northern Elves' kingdom and the dragon tamer and elf prince were already at each other's throats. Looking around their surroundings, they were greeted by the rocky plains and grasslands. The entrance to the northern Dwarven city was just a couple minutes away. As Kakashi went to open his mouth to shut the two up, a pack of Uruk-Hai was heading towards their direction. Without much to hide in these terrains, Kakashi cursed.

"Shut up both of you." Kakashi ordered. "We have a problem." He signaled them to get off the horses.

Naruto looked up to see a pack of about ten heading towards them. "What are they?" Naruto frowned. They were ugly looking.

"Uruk-Hai." Sasuke growled as he got his bow and arrow ready. "They're an advance race of Orcs. They're very dangerous."

"Prepare for battle." Kakashi said as he got his staff pointed at them. It seemed like the Uruk-Hai had noticed the trio and was charging at them.

Naruto got his sword and shield ready but was shaking in his boots. He has never faced any of these before. An Uruk-Hai reached Naruto and was about to swing. Naruto quickly dodged it by falling on his back. An arrow soon came hitting the enemy straight in the forehead.

Sasuke appeared in front of the frightened Dragon tamer as he helped him up. "What's wrong Scaredy-cat?" You could just hear the smirk in his voice.

"Shut up." Naruto muttered as he aimed for one of them from behind the elf prince. The two looked at each other and nodded. They covered each other's backs as they faced the enemy head on. Kakashi was fighting off four on his own with his magic. The horses had run off scared.

Just when the duo finished off what seemed like the last of them, heavy footsteps were heard. Looking up ahead, they saw the largest of the bunch heading up to them with a large hammer.

"I got him! Go help Kakashi." Sasuke ordered as he immediately went to shooting the guy. His arrows made their mark but it seemed like it had no affect on him.

"Your puny arrows are nothing, Fairy." The Uruk-Hai said as he pulled the arrows out of him and came charging. Sasuke glared at the beast in front of him. Why did everyone assume he was a fairy? He reached for another arrow to realize that he had run out.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called out in warning. Sasuke's eyes widened as he was sent flying off his feet. His back hit a boulder as he coughed out blood. The bastard has kicked the wind out of him. Gasping for air, Sasuke tried to find anything to fight back with. Nothing. All he could do was watch as the Uruk-Hai grabbed his hammer and raised it over him.

"You will become Fairy dust!" He taunted as he swung the hammer down.

Sasuke immediately closed his eyes but was surprised when he didn't feel anything. In fact, he heard the Uruk-Hai in front of him yelp in pain instead. Opening his eyes, he saw that an axe had embedded itself right dab in the middle of its head. A shadow had fallen over the young elf prince. Looking up, he saw a silhouette of someone standing on top of the boulder he was against. The sun was making it hard to see just who it was. The newcomer had jumped and pulled the axe down, cutting the enemy in half. Not wasting anytime, he immediately ran towards Naruto and Kakashi who had managed to kill their opponents. However, one had the strength to get up and pull one final attack on Naruto from behind. The person had grabbed the axe by the end and spun around. Letting the axe go, the momentum caused it to continue spinning towards the last remaining enemy, severing his head off.

Naruto yelped in surprise and disgust as the Uruk-Hai's head slid off its body and rolled towards his feet. Kakashi looked at the damage done before looking at the person who had saved their lives to see him running away.

"H-Hey wait!" Naruto called out. Sasuke, who had gotten over his close-encounter of death, immediately went to chase after the guy. Naruto and Kakashi followed after him.

As the elf prince ran, he noticed that the person in front of them was dressed in clothing associated with those of the dwarves. The iron vest and metal chain tunic was a given. The helmet the person was wearing covered most of his face except for his eyes, nose, and mouth. Sasuke couldn't help but notice that it seemed loose on him. He found it amusing as he watched the helmet wobble as the dwarf ran away from him. The axe he used was that of dwarf craftsman skill. He smirked. There was his target. Even better. Sasuke immediately jumped and tackled the person to the ground. The two ended up rolling down the hill. Sasuke immediately straddled the dwarf under him.

"Where are the arrows you have stolen from the Uchiha elves?" Sasuke demanded.

Instead of getting an answer, he got a spit in the face and a head-butt. Sasuke was seeing stars. Taking advantage of the elf's shock, the dwarf pushed Sasuke off him and tried to run off again. Sasuke cursed in elf language as he tackled the person again. This time, the action caused the large helmet to fall off its head. Sasuke couldn't help but feel his mouth drop.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted as he and Kakashi finally made it to the scene. Kakashi was carrying the bloody axe with his magic. "Did you catch h-"Naruto paused as he was looking at the person Sasuke was straddling with a blush on his face. Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he shook his head. And here he thought he had seen everything.

"Well I'll be." Kakashi chuckled.

Sasuke was still speechless as he looked down at the person he was straddling. Dressed in dwarf clothing was a beautiful girl with long pink hair and mesmerizing green eyes. Her cheeks were dusted with pink from the running and fighting she did. Her hair spread around her face like a halo. Her green eyes were wide and shining. Speaking of green eyes, the moment she looked up at Sasuke and their eyes met, he could feel his heart pounding very fast. Sasuke broke contact right away as he placed a hand over his left chest. Why was it beating so fast? The goddamn sun was causing his face to feel warm. Why was her face getting closer? She was really pretty. Way too pretty to be a dwarf. Just as he was about to say something, she had head-butted him…again.

"CHA!" She finally spoke as she pushed Sasuke off her once again. Before she could make another run for it, she began to float in the air.

"That's enough running, don't you think?" Kakashi said, levitating the pink-haired dwarf off the ground.

"Who are you?" She glared as she struggled to run in the air.

Kakashi smirked. "Feisty aren't we? I'm Kakashi the Great." At that, her green eyes widened in recognition of his name. So she has at least heard of him. "The blonde fellow next to me is Naruto Uzumaki, Dragon Tamer and future King of Konoha."

Naruto had stars in his eyes as they glowed with amazement. "Oh man, the way you came in and defeated that large Uuoki-hoki-dude-"

"Uruk-Hai…" The dwarf corrected him but Naruto paid no heed.

"-Sasuke was all like 'oh no I'm gonna die' and you were like 'I got this'. And you got your axe and just chopped the guy in half. And then you were like ZOOM, running towards us and you did that cool spinning trick and you tossed your axe. I thought you were gonna hit me, but you got the dude behind me. You saved my life and then you began to run away when we wanted to just tell you-mmhhf" Naruto felt his mouth glued shut thanks to Kakashi's magic. The dwarf gave Kakashi a thankful look as he placed her back on her feet. He noticed that she was taller than most dwarves he had encountered.

"We get it Naruto." Kakashi sighed. "You think she's cool. Oh and the one you head-butted twice is Sasuke, the younger prince of the Northern Uchiha Elves. May we know the name of the beautiful girl who saved our lives?"

The girl's eyes widened as she looked at the trio before blushing and looking down shyly at her feet. Everyone sweat dropped.

'_Its like she is another person!'_ They all thought.

"S-Sakura…" She answered as she began to draw weird patterns on the dirt with her right foot.

"That's a lovely name." Kakashi grinned causing Sakura to blush more. Sasuke glared at the wizard as Naruto nodded his head in agreement. "Do you happen to know anything about arrows being taken from the Uchiha clan?"

"What is it to you?" Her character suddenly changed as her guard went up once again.

"You wouldn't happen to be the one who stole them, are you Sakura?" Kakashi questioned her.

"I need them for my goal." Sakura frowned.

"Goal?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"You wouldn't understand." Sakura muttered as she turned away from the trio and hugged herself. She soon felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Tell us." Sasuke said as he squeezed her shoulder.

"We're not mad." The wizard added. "Just curious as to why you need the arrows."

It was quiet as Sakura sighed before looking around. "I'll tell you. Just not here."

-X-

The men followed Sakura to a cottage near a waterfall.

"What is this?" Naruto asked.

"This is where I live!" Sakura beamed as she led them inside her home.

"Lady Chiyo!" Sakura called out.

"She's not home." A deep voice answered from deep inside the house.

"Ah! We have guests!" Sakura responded as she signaled the men to make themselves at home. "Where did she go?"

"She went to get more paint for the puppets, which was what you were supposed to be doing." Footsteps were heard as the other person finally revealed himself. He had shaggy red hair and honey eyes. The man raised an eyebrow as he saw the trio that was hanging in the living room. "What do we have here?"

"These are people I met from outside." Sakura answered as she pointed at blond. "This is Naruto from Konoha, Kakashi the Great, and Sasuke who is the Prince of the Northern Elves. Everyone, this is Sasori."

"You're Sasori the Great Puppet Master." Kakashi recognized.

"You make puppets?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

Sakura smiled as she looked at Sasori with admiration. "He's the best in these lands."

"I wanna see them!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Sasori, may I show Naruto your work?"

Getting the approval from the redhead, Sakura grinned as she grabbed the blonde by the wrist and led him down the hall. Kakashi and Sasuke stayed in their seats, sitting across from Sasori

"Interesting that a dwarf is staying with a human. I would have imagined Sakura would have been with her people." Kakashi said as he took his hat off and placed it on the table between them.

"She would have if they didn't get slaughtered." Sasori frowned.

"Slaughtered?" Sasuke questioned. He was shocked that something like that would have happened to the girl.

Sasori sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. "It was eighteen years ago. I was only 10 when it happened."

-X-x-X-

_Banging was heard late in the night as Sasori woke up from his slumber. Heading out of his room, he saw his grandmother heading towards the front door with a weapon in hand. _

"_Who is it?" She asked. "What do you want?!"_

"_O-Open the door please. H-Hurry." A voice said muffled from the door._

_Hesitantly, Chiyo opened the door to reveal a short tan dwarf with dark pink hair that resembled that of a flower petal. _

"_Kizashi!" Chiyo's eyes widened as she let her long time friend in. He was king of the Dwarven city up close to Konoha. They were friends due to her helping his human wife give birth to their daughter recently. Sadly Mebuki had died during childbirth. It was then that she noticed the fact that the dwarf was bleeding profoundly from his mouth and his stomach. _

"_Sasori! Get my kit!" Chiyo ordered her grandson. Sasori was about to move but the dwarf's voice stopped him._

"_Do not bother." The man said. "Please just take care of my daughter!" He paused to cough out blood. He fell to his knees as Chiyo helped him up. Sasori took the infant in his arms. He was surprised to see she was still fast asleep. Blood had gotten on the lavender purple she was wrapped up against. She had pink hair and a large forehead. _

"_Kizashi, what happened?" Chiyo asked with sadness in her eyes. Her friend was not going to make it._

"_Konoha was attacked by this woman claiming to be God." He took a moment to catch his breath. "She was looking for the forbidden fruit that can grant the wish of the person that eats it. She released the Kyuubi on the whole kingdom, passing through ours on the way. Everyone is gone."_

"_What did you do with the forbidden fruit?" Chiyo asked as she tried to stop the blood._

"_Sakura is half-dwarf…so I-"_

"_You wished her immortality?" Chiyo finished for him. She felt her dying friend weakly shake his head._

"_She will age like a human until she reaches the age of eighteen. After that, she will age like a dwarf normally would. However, that is not my wish for her. I-"At this point, Kizashi was coughing out more blood. He began to drown in it._

"_Kizashi!" Chiyo shook him but it was too late. Chiyo clenched her fists before closing her late friend's eyes._

_Sasori watched the scene with sadness as he looked at the infant in his arms. She was just like him. No parents. That night, he vowed to watch over her and make sure no harm would come her way."_

-X-x-X-

"She knows that she's part dwarf." An elderly voice added. The trio turned to the front door to see an old lady entering with a basket of paints.

"Grandmother Chiyo." Sasori greeted as he got up to get the basket from her.

"I would not hide such a fact from her. I had raised her as my own grandchild. I was a friend of her father. She is the child between a dwarf and a human.

"She is also a princess." Kakashi noted.

"Yes, she is." Chiyo nodded. "She is a strong one, that Sakura is. She was even trained by my old friend, Tsunade. She knows how to heal and has super strength. Don't let her looks deceive ye." She soon paused as she looked at the two handsome strangers in front of her. "You must be an Uchiha elf." She said pointing to Sasuke. "And you're Kakashi the Great. How did you meet my dear Sakura?"

"She saved us!" Naruto explained as Sakura and him entered the room. "I'm Naruto, dragon tamer of Konoha and future King!"

"Ah, King Minato's son. The resemblance is remarkable." Chiyo nodded to herself. "What are you three doing here?"

"We have a mission given to us by Queen Tsunade herself. We are to retrieve the rare Athelas that lies up at Lonely Mountain in the Kyuubi's cavern." Kakashi explained.

"My family has created arrows that can defeat the dragon. However, your 'granddaughter' has stolen them from us." Sasuke said coming up to the half-dwarf and glared down at her.

Sakura scoffed as she glared back. Just because the elf was taller than her, he thought he could scare her off. "Well I need it to avenge my father's death. I will kill the dragon and the woman that caused everything to happen."

"Well, you should just join our team since we are heading towards a common goal." Kakashi offered.

"What!" Sasuke and Sakura shouted as they glared at each other again. Realizing how close they were, they both blushed before stepping away.

"We're going to need all the help we can get. Sakura is strong and brave. Besides, the arrows can truly activate with the elf chants. Naruto's a dragon tamer and I have magic. We can do this." Kakashi said.

"I will not." Sasuke said crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking away.

Sakura did the same but in the opposite direction. "I won't work with someone so spoiled. Do you even know how to fight? I had to save your butt earlier."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes before he turned to her and smirked. "Auta miqula orqu (Go kiss an Orc)."

"Speak in a language we can all understand!" Sakura growled as she stomped her foot.

Sasori and Chiyo watched as the Elf and Half-dwarf bicker. Elfs and Dwarfs truly didn't get along well. Sasori was glaring daggers at the prince that was giving Sakura trouble all while Chiyo smirked before placing a hand on her chest.

"Ooh…" Chiyo cried out as she fell to her knees. This caught the attention of the two as Sakura's eyes widened.

"Lady Chiyo!" Sakura rushed over to her. "What's wrong?!"

"S-Sakura…my sweet flower." Chiyo wheezed. "This is your fate. Please…go…" Chiyo took one last breath before her head fell to the side.

"Lady Chiyo…no." Sakura cried out with large doe eyes. Sasuke couldn't help but feel his heart beat a bit fast. Even while crying, she looked pretty. He mentally frowned and pushed the thought away.

"Grandmother…" Sasori said grabbing a hand and holding it tight.

"I'll go!" Sakura cried. "I promise!"

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto said stepping forward to comfort her.

It was silent for several seconds as Sakura tried to stop her tears.

"Good!" Chiyo said as she stretched.

"EH!" Naruto said pointing a finger at her. Kakashi and Sasuke couldn't help but fall over in shock.

"Gotcha!" Chiyo laughed as she gave them the peace sign. Sasori sighed and shook his head at his grandmother's behavior. Really, he should have seen it coming.

"Lady Chiyo!" Sakura said appalled. "I can't believe you!"

"This really is a good thing for you my dear. This is fate! I believe in you." Chiyo said cupping Sakura's face.

Sakura was silent as she looked over to the new people who would have a huge impact in her future. Kakashi was smiling at her. Well she really couldn't tell, but the crinkle near his eye told her so. Naruto had his hands locked behind his head as he gave her a grin that reminded her of a fox. Sasuke was pouting but he didn't seem against her joining anymore. Sakura sighed.

"Looks like I'll be going on an adventure." Sakura said as she couldn't help but smile.

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I had to give Sakura a bad-ass entrance since Kishimoto isn't giving Sakura a moment to shine any time soon. Well now the group has finally come together. I hope you all enjoyed it. Please wait for my next update!

-Love Kumiko

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	4. Chapter 4

OH MY GOD! Having a writer's block this past month sucked so much, but I was finally able to update! Thank you guys for waiting for my update! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

**Athelas**

"Make sure you wear your armor at all times!" Chiyo warned.

"Yes Lady Chiyo." Sakura said as she nodded.

"Make sure to always refill your water container."

"Yes Lady Chiyo."

"Make sure there's a good space between you and these men when sleeping. They're good guys but they're still men."

"Yes, yes."

"Especially the elf, I heard he's in need of a wife soon." Chiyo winked, causing the dwarf in front of her to turn red.

"Me and this ugly thing? Preposterous." Sasuke scoffed.

"That's my line!" Sakura got over her embarrassment and glared at the tall elf.

"Hey! Sakura-chan isn't ugly!" Naruto growled.

"Naruto…" Sakura said happily.

"I mean sure, no one else has pink hair. Her forehead is a little wid-"

"NARUTO!" Sakura punched the poor blond boy in the face before getting back into her argument with the elf prince.

"They haven't even left yet and they're already fighting." Sasori shook his head as he helped with the supplies with Kakashi.

Kakashi let out a sigh, as he had to wonder. Were having a dense dragon tamer, a spoiled elf prince, and a bipolar dwarf really the best choice for this mission? Luckily his hair was naturally silver so he didn't have to worry about getting white hair from stress. Chiyo was kind enough to let them stay over night. It was now five in the morning.

"Shall we get a move on?" Kakashi asked only to get ignored. "Um guys?" Sasuke and Sakura still continued to argue while Naruto added things in Sakura's defense. "Guys." Again nothing. "Enough!" Kakashi roared as the skies above them turned dark and thunder and lightening followed.

"K-Kakashi…" Naruto whimpered in fear as he hid under Sasuke's cape.

"Get away from me idiot." Sasuke frowned.

"Sakura-chan, teme is being mean."

"We are going to be teammates for the rest of this mission. So you three shall act like so." Kakashi said.

"How do you suggest we do that?" Sakura asked.

The great wizard in front of them soon smiled which gave them the creeps. Reaching into his right sleeve, he pulled out two silver bells.

"It seems like we shall be staying here a little longer than planned, Sasori." Kakashi informed the redhead who nodded and went inside, most likely to tell his grandmother the news. "You three have until lunch time to get these bells from me. Let's start…now." Before the trio knew it, Kakashi had disappeared into thin air.

"EH?!" Naruto and Sakura shouted as they pointed at the empty spot that the Kakashi was just standing in.

"Hn." Sasuke was used to Kakashi's disappearing acts after knowing the wizards for a century due to him being a family friend. He turned his back on his two new teammates. This was a waste of time.

"Sakura-chan! What are we supposed to do?" Naruto cried as he began to shake Sakura by the shoulders.

"You heard what he said. We have to get those two bells from him." Sakura answered as she walked towards the empty space up ahead.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, where are you going?" Naruto called out catching Sasuke's attention. The elf prince looked over his shoulder to see the dwarf heading towards the empty space.

"Heh, she probably gave up." Sasuke sneered.

Sakura's eyes narrowed at his words as she pulled out black gloves from her pocket. She placed them on her hands as she soon made eye contact with Sasuke and gave him a smirk over her shoulder. She made an amused sound that caused him to shiver with an unknown fear.

"SHANNARO!" Sakura shouted as her fist made contact with the ground.

The boys watched as nothing happened. They looked at each other to make sure. Before they knew it, the ground under them began to rumble. Small cracks began to make its way towards them. The ground soon exploded revealing a shocked Kakashi hiding within the ground. Naruto felt himself falling to the side, mouth wide open. Sasuke felt his left eye twitching.

"I found you." Sakura grinned as Kakashi sweat-dropped.

"I-I supposed you did." Kakashi said wearily.

"Guys, now!" Sakura soon called out. Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other before they sprung into action.

-X-

Chiyo and Sasori calmly drank their cup of tea as everything in the home shook. Sasori sighed as he stuck his left hand in time to catch vase that fell of the shelf.

"Sakura is at it again." Sasori muttered.

Chiyo tilted her head back in laughter as she got up and stopped the picture frame from falling off the wall. "Never underestimate my dear Sakura!" Chiyo laughed as Sasori just shook his head.

The women in this family were so weird.

-X-

It was a quarter til noon and they still haven't gotten the bells from the Wizard yet. The trio was lying down within one of the deep craters Sakura had created. They were tired, sweaty, and hungry.

"Remind me to never piss you off. You can actually kill me Sakura-chan." Naruto said between breaths. Sasuke could only nod his head in agreement. The boys slowly got up and tried to get out. Sasuke noticed that Sakura was still lying on the ground.

"Can you stand?" Sasuke asked. Sakura shook her head. She had tired herself out.

Sighing, Sasuke went back to lift her up. He was surprised by how light she was, especially with all the metal she wore. Carrying her on her back, he began to follow after Naruto who helped them get out of the crater.

They placed the tired Dwarf on the ground as they looked around their surroundings. Sakura had created crater after crater, fighting Kakashi once she found him. The boys would then try to get the bells while Sakura cornered the wizard, only for him to disappear once again.

"Sakura-chan's power is terrifying." Naruto weakly laughed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Come on, we don't have much time." Sasuke frowned. It should be close to noon already.

"Well well, I wonder what will happen next." Kakashi's voice came from behind them. The duo looked back to see the Wizard crouching next to Sakura's unconscious form. A small dagger was pressed against her throat.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out in concern.

"Step away from her." Sasuke ordered as he took a step forward.

"I though you hated her." Kakashi asked. "Maybe I should just get rid of her so she won't be a burden to the mission."

"Sakura-chan is our friend! We leave no friends behind!" Naruto growled.

"Ah." Sasuke nodded his head in agreement.

"We leave no friends behind, huh?" Kakashi repeated before he picked up Sakura in his arms bridal style and smiled. "You all pass."

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"WHAAAAT!" Naruto exclaimed.

"This was never really about getting the bells but working on your teamwork." Kakashi explained. "You three keep fighting. How can we work together to save Princess Hinata if we're like this? Especially fighting the dragon that is guarding the flower we are searching for."

Naruto and Sasuke looked down, disappointed in themselves. Sakura began to stir in Kakashi's arms as she blinked a few times.

"K-Kakashi?"

"Let's go grab lunch!" Naruto cheered as Kakashi set her back on her feet, making sure she could stand on her own.

Sakura nodded as Naruto grabbed her and ran back to the house. Sasuke stayed back and watched them.

"You can run after them too, you know." Kakashi urged. The wizard watched as the tip of Sasuke's ears turned red with embarrassment.

"Childish." Sasuke said walking off.

The great wizard didn't call the elf prince out on the fact that his walking speed was faster than usual.

-X-

After the fantastic lunch that Chiyo made, everyone went outside to finally say goodbye.

"Thank you so much Lady Chiyo!" Sakura said as she gave the old woman a tight hug.

"I know you will do well to help your teammates on their mission. You are your father's daughter." Chiyo praised, patting the pinkette on the head.

Sakura soon went to Sasori. "S-Sasori…" She began to say with tears in her eyes.

The redhead sighed before giving her a rare smile. "Come here, you idiot." He pulled the girl into a hug. "You better come back safe." He said, as he looked over that the men also giving that as a warning to them. You could just feel the dark aura around him as he hugged their new teammate.

"She'll be in good hands!" Naruto grinned as he gave Sasori a thumb's up. "Believe it!"

"I trust you on that. She's my precious person." Sasori said as he let the dwarf go, only to rest his arm on top of her head.

"Hey, quit it!" Sakura whined, but her facial expression was anything but upset.

"Hey Kakashi!" Naruto frowned as he gathered the horses.

"Hm?" Kakashi asked as he pulled out an orange book.

"There are three horses, but four of us." Naruto pointed out.

"Sakura will just have to ride with one of us then." Kakashi said waving the young boy off.

Naruto immediately started to point at himself. "Me! Me!"

"Hm, Sasuke, why not have Sakura ride with you?" Kakashi said.

"WHAT!" Naruto frowned. "Wait a minute! Why Sasuke?"

"No." Sasuke frowned as he crossed his arms. "These are my family horses. My horse, Chidori, especially wouldn't want a dwarf to ride on him. He turned to see his horse getting friendly with Sakura.

"Who's the cute one? You are!" Sakura giggled as Chidori nuzzled up to her.

"Seems like your horse says otherwise." Naruto chuckled as he went to help Sakura up on the horse.

Sasuke pouted as he walked to his horse. "Traitor." His horse only made a noise that sounded like he was laughing.

"Sakura-chan should just ride with me!" Naruto protested.

"Hn." Sasuke pouted as he got on his horse.

"Another word Naruto, and it will be you who will ride with our royal prince." Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other before making a face of disgust as Sakura placed a hand over her mouth to stop from giggling.

Since Sakura was still short to get on the horse by herself, Kakashi used his staff to levitate her on top of the horse. To feel more secure, Sakura wrapped her arms around Sasuke's waist. This caused the elf to jump as a reaction. The tips of his ears felt warm but tried to ignore it.

"Let's head out." Kakashi said. He was about to go on his horse before a voice stopped him.

"Kakashi, may I have a word with you real quick?" Sasori asked.

-X-

It was finally nighttime when the team decided to stop and set up camp.

"I'll take first watch." Kakashi said as he set up a barrier and then walked away. Sakura laid in the middle of the boys. Naruto was sound asleep; the red egg that Jiraiya had given him was next to him. Only Sasuke and Sakura were still awake. Sakura still had the arrows with her, much to Sasuke's dismay.

"Hey Sasuke, are you still awake?" Sakura's soft voice filled the air. A dwarf shouldn't have a voice like that.

"Hn."

Taking that a sign to continue, Sakura rolled over to her side to face the elf next to her. "Do you think we'll be able to defeat the dragon?"

"Of course, my father created the arrows that you stole." Sasuke couldn't help but point out. Sakura made a face but held her tongue.

"I need them." Sakura frowned as she went to lie on her back again. "I need to find the goddess that killed my father and destroyed my kingdom."

She sounded so defeated that Sasuke turned his head to look at her. She had her eyes shut as silent tears streamed down her face. Sasuke didn't know what to say. He never lost anyone before and couldn't compare.

"Which is why you're with us." Sasuke finally said. "You can fight the goddess with our help while we slay the dragon and get the Athelas to save Princess Hinata."

"Hinata Hyuuga from the South." Sakura added.

"You know of her?" Sasuke questioned.

"Not all dwarfs and elves have to be enemies, you know. Believe it or not, I have many elf friends."

"Like who?" Sasuke challenged.

"Hinata and Neji from the Southern lands, and Ino and Shikamaru from the Eastern lands."

"And how do you know them?"

"When I was younger, Lady Chiyo took me to train with her friend Lady Tsunade for three years. We stopped by to visit the Southern Elves from time to time. I became really close to them that Chiyo and his clan wanted me to marry Neji actually."

Sasuke frowned. Neji and him were rivals and the fact that the Hyuga Clan had plans for Sakura to marry him didn't suit well with Sasuke.

"It was from the Eastern Elves that I learn medicine from them, especially the Nara clan." Sakura explained. "It was from them that I heard about the Uchiha clan from the North creating arrows that could slay the Kyuubi."

"Ah."

"Do you even know how to have a full conversation like a normal person?" Sakura pouted.

"Do you know that you're annoying?" Sasuke frowned as he turned his back on her. "I'm going to bed now."

"Ugh." Sakura stuck her tongue out at him even though he couldn't see it. "Asshole. No wonder you have a chicken's ass for a hairstyle." She mumbled before turning her back on him as well.

"Excuse me?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Never had he met a person, especially a woman talk to him like this. They usually do everything he asked.

"Shut up, now you're annoying." Sakura responded. Sasuke growled before forcing himself to go to sleep.

Kakashi was leaning against the tree as he heard their conversation and chuckled. My, was his team interesting.

-X-

"Why are we heading towards the east? Isn't the Kyuubi in the west?" Naruto frowned. The four were on their horses passing through the forest.

Kakashi had awakened them bright and early. Supposedly, there were side missions to this quest. "We are to pick up medicine from the Eastern Elves. The Athelas alone is not enough to help Princess Hinata." Kakashi explained as he soon looked to the only dwarf in the group. "I suppose you knew that with your background with healing."

Sakura nodded. "I just thought you guys already had them."

"After that, we shall be stopping by the Hyuga Elves in the South to have a final meeting with the King before heading to the Dragon's lair."

"But wouldn't we be wasting time?" Sasuke questioned.

"The medicine we pick up should slow down the poison in Princess Hinata." Kakashi answered. "Also, your brother had left a gift for you there as well."

Sasuke's ears twitched as Sakura squealed in delight causing the others to jump in surprise.

"What's wrong Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Sasuke's ears twitched!" Sakura giggled as she went to touch them. "So cute!"

Sasuke felt goose bumps as Sakura began to play with his ears. "Quit that!" He ordered but Sakura didn't listen and continued to play with it. He could hear Naruto and Kakashi chuckling in the background.

"Does your ears twitch when you're happy?" Sakura asked her companion.

"Be careful Sakura." Kakashi teased.

"Yeah, or else Sasuke might attack you." Naruto finished as he started to laugh out loud at Sasuke's red face.

"Eh?" Sakura tilted her head in confusion. "Why would he attack me? I didn't do anything to piss him off."

Everyone was silent until Naruto busted out into an even louder laughter. "Sakura-chan, you are too cute." Naruto laughed as he wiped a tear away from his eye. Sasuke's face got even redder as he sped off with Sakura.

Kakashi was suddenly quiet as he thought about what Sasori told him before they left.

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"_Kakashi, may I have a word with you real quick?" Sasori asked._

_Kakashi nodded as the two went a bit far from the group. "I have a feeling this is about Sakura?"_

"_You see, I've been pretty over-protective of Sakura over the years. She wouldn't know how to handle boys, especially if they like her." The redhead spoke out his concern._

"_Naruto is engaged."_

"_I was talking about that elf." Sasori clarified._

"_Sasuke and Sakura?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Now that he thought about it, he could see the attraction between them growing._

"_I just want you to look out for her…since I won't be there." Sasori frowned. "Sakura has a really big heart but can easily get hurt. I know the Hyuga clan and the Uchiha clan think differently when it comes to Dwarfs. Sakura is different since she's half. The Hyuga clan would have no qualms about Sakura if she were to fall for any of their members. It's the Uchiha clan I'm worried about. There's no doubt that Sakura would fall for Sasuke and maybe vice versa. If his clan prohibits it, it would leave her heartbroken. I do not wish that upon her. " _

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Kakashi was pulled out of his thoughts as he looked at the two ahead in the group. Sasori was right to worry, but he had no power in stopping what was inevitable. Who knows, maybe some good may come out of it.

"Hey!" Naruto soon shouted, getting the attention of the members. Everyone looked up to see the red egg that Naruto carried roll away from the blonde. It began to crack as wings came out.

"It's hatching!" Sakura pointed out as everyone got off the horses to get closer to it.

The top part of the egg finally came off revealing a scaly baby dragon with skin the color of lava. Naruto went to pick it up and brought it close to him.

"It's a dragon!" Naruto was shocked. "A baby dragon! Why would that pervert give me a baby dragon?!"

"I wonder how Jiraiya got a hold of it." Kakashi mused.

Naruto brought the baby dragon closer to his face.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Sasuke warned. Before Naruto could ask what Sasuke was talking about, the baby dragon opened its mouth and let out a fire attack in the color of teal.

"Idiot." Sasuke face palmed as Sakura took the baby dragon away from the burnt dragon tamer.

Naruto coughed out smoke before glaring at the dragon in the girl's arms. "What gives? Sakura-chan, be careful! That thing is dangerous!"

Sakura giggled as the dragon began to nuzzle her. "This little guy? He's fine with me. I think you probably scared him. We should name him."

"How about devil?" Naruto grumbled.

"Naruto." Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Be nice! This will be your dragon now so you have to get along. How can you become a dragon tamer if you can't even handle a baby dragon?"

"Shenron…" Sasuke mumbled causing everyone to look at him. "We'll call him Shenron."

"Shenron…" The group repeated to test how it sounded.

"Shenron it is." Kakashi announced as Sakura nodded.

"I guess…" Naruto pouted as he stared at his new companion.

Noticing this, Sakura kneeled on the ground as she placed Shenron down. "Slowly try to get him to go to you." Sakura said as she patted the dragon before letting it go.

Naruto frowned as he sat down and began to call the dragon out. When Shenron was a foot away from the blond, they began to have a stare down.

"Hurry up dobe! We're wasting time!" Sasuke commented.

"Shut up. You're ruining the moment." Sakura replied.

Naruto slowly reached out his hand as the dragon sniffed him. The dragon tamer soon began to scratch the Shenron under his chin as he mewed happily.

"HEY HE LIKES ME!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You don't have to yell." Sasuke frowned.

"Come on, Shenron! You can ride with me!" Naruto said placing Shenron on his shoulder before going on his horse.

"And then that was that!" Kakashi commented as he too got on his horse. Sasuke helped Sakura on the horse first before getting on after her.

"Let's go." Sasuke announced as the five of them rode off.

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Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please wait for my next update!

-Love Kumiko


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